ELEVEN
Dear Dylan,
I loved ballet as a kid. The fluidity and gracefulness of it makes me feel alive and free. When I close my eyes and dance, I breathe in inspiration and breathe out passion. I loved ballet and it was one of those few things that I was actually good at. Speaking of which, I still have my ballet flats from back when I first started. Will you see if they fit Haley? Thanks honey. I’ll always love the both of you.
Love, Katie.
***
It was Katie’s subtle way of saying would you please send Haley to a ballet school so she could learn the art of ballet. I’ve watched how Haley twirls around in our living room when she thinks no one’s looking. I realized that she’d be cut out for this and that was why on the morning of Haley’s tenth birthday, I took her to the dance studio two blocks away from where we lived. When we got there, Haley couldn’t hide her big grin no more. She was clearly excited and being her dad, I was excited for her too.
“You can start today” Haley’s new ballet instructor told her, making her a little nervous. But she was a real champ when she nodded at me and said, “Okay, let’s go”. And so, Haley started that day itself. I stood from a distance and watched Haley slide her feet into the old pair of pink ballet flats that used to belong to her mom. She walked into the room and started doing her warm-ups and eventually took her first few moves as a ballet dancer. I couldn’t have been more proud.
That night, Haley came home with a sore toe and I had to ice it for her. Even amidst her pain, Haley was happy that she did it.
“How did I do today, Daddy?”
"You were good. I was watching you”
“You were?”
“The whole time”
“You know, halfway through, Noah joined me”
“He did?”
“Yup”
“Did he say anything?”
“He told me his best friend’s going to be awesome in this”
“Really?”
“He said you were a beautiful ballerina”
“Well coming from Noah, let’s hope it’s not sarcasm”
I laughed. “No. No, I think he’s serious”
Haley smiled. She loved receiving compliments but when it came from Noah, let’s just say it’s slightly different, because Noah was special to her. He really was. And that, was something I couldn’t take away from them.
YOU ARE READING
16 Letters
Teen FictionSixteen letters came through the mail over the course of sixteen years. Each letter brought significance, hope, joy and laughter, but most of all : memories.
